A/HRC/14/41 and members of the diplomatic community. The independent expert also participated in the third meeting of the Darfur Human Rights Forum, held in El Fasher on 9 February 2010. Both forums provide a platform for dialogue and follow-up on human rights issues between the Government, the United Nations and other stakeholders; donor countries participate as observers. During both meetings, the expert noted the Human Rights Council’s recognition of the forums as a mechanism for the protection and promotion of human rights in the Sudan. Given their composition and terms of reference, as noted by the Council in paragraph 13 of resolution 11/10, the forums serve as a useful mechanism for the exchange of information and dialogue on human rights concerns. Put to maximum use, it has the potential to become a venue for continued engagement and coordination of initiatives between the Government of National Unity and all other stakeholders. 26. To enhance the participation of local authorities and to strengthen the linkage between central and local authorities, stakeholders in the Darfur Human Rights Forum agreed to establish subforums in the three Darfur States. To this end, the governors of West and North Darfur have established subforums in their respective States. The independent expert attended a meeting of the West Darfur subforum while visiting El Geneina on 7 February 2010. Plans are ongoing to establish a subforum for South Darfur State as well. III. Northern Sudan 27. On 20 February 2010, following the signing of an agreement between the Government of National Unity and the Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), in Ndjamena, the President of the Sudan announced that he would commute the sentences of 106 men, who had been convicted by an anti-terrorism court for their involvement in the JEM attack of 10 May 2008 on Omdurman. Consistent with that announcement, on 24 February 2010, the Government released 57 people, 50 of whom had been sentenced to death. One of the men died in detention before the Government pledged to release them. Most of the men claimed that they had only been granted access to lawyers at the start of their trial, four months after being arrested. Furthermore, it was alleged that the confessions registered during pretrial detention, which formed a significant basis for their convictions, had been extracted under duress and torture. The courts did not order any investigations into these allegations. Eight minors also convicted and sentenced to death by the court for offences in connection with the same incident remain in jail, despite the assurances made by the Minister for Justice to the Special Representative Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict that they would not be executed. 28. On 14 January 2010, 6 men accused of killing 13 policemen during riots in a suburb of Khartoum in 2005 were executed in spite of concerns raised about lack of due process in the trial proceedings. The Government claimed that the appeals process had been exhausted and relatives of the accused failed to persuade the victims’ families to accept dia (“blood money”) as an alternative to the executions. According to information received, the six men had complained that they did not have access to counsel for five months following their arrest and detention, during which time confessions were obtained from them under torture. The executions went ahead in spite of urgent appeals and a request for a stay of execution from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Sudan and three Special Rapporteurs. 29. In Khartoum, ongoing violations stemming from the uneven application of public order laws remain a major concern. At the core of the regime is article 152 of the Criminal Act of 1991, which criminalizes undefined “indecent and immoral acts” and recommends corporal punishment. The Public Order Police most frequently apply this provision to and carry out arrests of women, many of whom are not Muslims, regardless of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the prohibition by the Interim National Constitution GE.10-13648 7